I began to take notice of Eighting’s fighting game efforts ever since I played Bloady Roar: Primal Fury for the GameCube a couple of years ago. Granted, I wasn’t the most accomplished player in the realm of three-dimensional fighters at that point, but what Primal Fury offered was very much to my liking, and it ignited my interest in such fighting games such as Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen and its subsequent sequels. Like Naruto, Eighting’s latest fighter is also based on a popular anime that has become a popular segment on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming, a game based on the InuYasha anime entitled InuYasha: Feudal Combat.

Being a fan of most of the programs shown on Adult Swim, I’ve happened to catch quite a few episode of the InuYasha anime, so I’m somewhat familiar with the series’ characters and plot. And from what I’ve seen, it’s apparent that by staying true to its source material, Feudal Combat can be easily embraced by fans of the anime, with the importance of gameplay being put on the back-burner. The game’s cel-shaded visuals bring the world of the anime to life very well. All the characters are designed to look very much like their artistic renderings and the backdrops of the game’s bouts are beautifully rendered, with trees swaying in the backdrop, demons soaring through the sky and things of the like. Adding to the atmosphere is the inclusion of the show’s English-speaking voice actors and fluid animations/trademark moves ripped straight from the show. Enhancing the visual bliss of the game further is an intuitive camera system which pans dynamically during bouts to give an almost cinematic feel to them. In a nutshell, Feudal Combat is definitely a game that will please fans of the anime. Although, when looking to judge the game a competent 3D fighter it doesn’t hold up too well at all.

A good fighting game is defined by the depth of its gameplay. Depth is often measured by the complexity of performing various maneuvers, defensive moves, reversals, such and so on... However, don’t be mistaken, there do exist many fighting games that are far too complex and may initially alienate players. Thus, a good fighting game is one that is fairly easy to grasp upon first playing it, but after learning the basics, players learn that the fighting system of the game itself has many layers to it. These layers add to the longevity and appeal of the game and that is basically what one would describe as depth in a fighting game. Unfortunately, InuYasha: Feudal Combat lacks the depth needed to be considered a good fighting game by hardened veterans of the genre such as myself.

The gameplay of the title is very much like the cult favorite Power Stone free-for-all fighting series which had been quite popular on Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast game console. In the game players are allowed to move freely around the 3D arena, however, unlike Power Stone, you will not be able to pick up items such as boulders and toss them towards opponents like you would in that game or the more recent Godzilla: Save the Earth. It should be noted, however, that the game’s environment is partially destructible and that’s always an entertaining site, but this unfortunately does not make-up for the game’s primitive combo system.

If I were to describe to you InuYasha’s combo system in two words, I think the term "button masher" would be the most accurate statement. In fact, Feudal Combat is one of the most simplistic button mashers that I have ever played. If you can repeatedly press the "square" button on the PS2 pad then you have already mastered the game. There isn’t much else you need to take into consideration in order to win any fight in the game. Making things even worse is that the same button combinations work for every single playable character in the game, as result there isn’t much time needed to master all the characters in the game. This is incredibly unfortunate since it takes away from any replay value the game may have had.

There are, of course, super maneuvers that each character is able to perform, but they’re also very easy to use in a bout, only requiring a single button press when its meter fills up. Although, there isn’t much use for them since bouts are often finished prior to when they become available. Additionally, the battle animations for these super moves are pretty cool but they’re rather lengthy and a bother to watch after the first five times.

I guess it would be wise for me to inform you guys about the game’s actual lasting appeal... Well, the truth is that most players will be able to drill through all the game’s offerings in a single afternoon. I won’t lie, I found the game’s story mode fairly entertaining. It manages to make good use of the source material by telling a condensed string of stories. You’ll initially play through the story mode with Inuyasha and then you’ll unlock other characters to do it with, and thankfully they’ll have a different plot to go through as well, almost like a continuation of sorts. Even with this said, you can still finish it all in an under an hour. The game’s mission mode is a somewhat redeeming gameplay mode since it’s just straight up fighting paired up with specific criteria given to players to win each match. Sometimes you’ll be required to keep you partner from being defeated, while at others times you’ll be asked to finish the match with a certain maneuver or to destroy a number of objects in the stage. This is a nice change since it almost changes the attack strategy players will have to use to win a fight. However, even mission mode fails to add any significant replay value to the game, and since the game has little depth, multiplayer mode also loses its luster fairly quick. So, don’t expect to get your full money’s worth if purchasing the game with the intent of spending a few nights with it, because I just don’t see it happening.

If I were to tell you that I wasn’t disappointed by InuYasha: Feudal Combat I’d be lying through my teeth. The game has all the strong presentation values needed to appeal to fans of the anime but the gameplay is way too shallow for anyone looking for a worthwhile fighter. However, the same could’ve been said about the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai games when they first hit retail shelves, so I’m somewhat optimistic regarding future sequels to Feudal Combat. Eighting is a very talented developer and their Naruto fighters have progressively become much more enjoyable with each sequel and I expect this same level of advancement regarding their InuYasha-branded efforts.